 Several female students in school uniform assault a female victim. The photos were captured from an user created content (UCC) posted on a local site at the end of last year. / Korea Times File |
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
No more than five years ago, the term ``juvenile delinquent'' mainly referred to badly-behaved male students in secondary schools. But now it is quite difficult to identify the gender of offenders when individuals hear about a crime in which young students are involved. It is because the number of female teenagers causing serious crimes is poised to outnumber that by males.
In December last year, a user created content (UCC) in which several female students in school uniform are assaulting another girl student was posted on a local UCC-only Web site.
The offenders were punching, slapping and kicking the victim. They even attempted to strip off the victim's uniform.
Fortunately, the police, who had tracked them down through a cyber investigation, charged them with mob violence.
In May this year, ten female students from a primary school in Daejeon, North Chungcheong Province, were involved a group fight that left several casualties including one student suffering brain-damaged. The reason for the fight was trivial: one group of students provoked another, saying they did not want to see their colleagues studying English in a classroom.
While types of female-led misconducts in the past were limited to something unpremeditated and minor, recent crimes break down the time-honored legacy.
The following is a case showing how brutal and violent current female student-led crimes are.
In November 2005, a 16-year-old girl was seized in Seoul on suspicion of running a buying-and selling-sex business.
Reportedly, she conned several runaway girls with a proposition to make money and then forced them into prostitution. She even extorted what they earned. The money she had blackmailed for a month amounted to 1.3 million won ($1,500). Reportedly, she frequently assaulted those who refused to sell their bodies.
Crimes by female juvenile on the rise
The number of crimes committed by female attackers is increasing.
Statistics compiled by the Foundation for Preventing Youth Violence (FPYV) show how steeply the number has grown.
In 1999, female students accounted for only 2.2 percent of all offenders causing in-school crimes. But the number soared to 10 percent in 2006.
According to a report released by the National Court Administration, a total of 25,946 juveniles were charged in 2006 with committing physical and psychological crimes such as physical violence, verbal abuse, bullying and extortion. The number has declined after hitting its highest of 30,706 in 2001.
These figures indicate that the overall number of such crimes reported to local courts has gradually dropped.
But the interesting thing is that the percentage of juveniles convicted is increasing. While, around 4,700 or 15 percent of those charged in 2001 were put behind bars, a fourth of those charged last year were imprisoned.
Moderate punishment makes it worse
As the figures above show, female students are no longer just victims of school violence.
Many school authorities and the government are also stepping up their efforts to curb the upward tendency. But many experts say moderate punishment against school attackers is making the situation worse.
A 13-year-old girl had her 11th police investigation in 2005. She was charged with breaking into a neighbor's home to steal valuables. What she did was serious enough to be jailed. But she was released following the investigation due to her age. Her first crime was actually not that serious. But her school had no countermeasures against school crimes.
Teachers at the school, who had once scolded her for a series of wrongdoings, paid no attention to her as her misdeeds persisted.
She became familiar with bad boys around the school and then started getting involved in crimes such as theft, assault and even housebreaking.
Another 13-year-old girl was caught stealing money in a locker room at a Korean-style sauna, called a ``jjimjilbang.'' She also had prior police investigations four times earlier under similar suspicions.
She was also released following the investigation because her age was under 14.
Under the current legal system, police can criminally punish those 14 years old and older.
This flaw in the current legal system partly encourages bad youngsters to perpetrate crimes, experts said.
According to the National Court Administration, the number of crimes committed by those between 12 and 20 was 30,706 in 2001. Fortunately, the number dropped significantly last year to 25,946.
Ironically, however, the number of crimes committed by those between 12 and 13 went against the trend. While 4,741 cases were reported in 2001, the number of cases increased as much as 40 percent to reach 6,665 last year.
``Youngsters now serving their sentences at juvenile reformatories nationwide have an average of five criminal convictions,'' said an official at the Ministry of Justice. ``It is very serious matter in that the number of juveniles who have the potential to lead a life of crime gradually increases in primary and secondary schools.''
School lacks prevention education
A recent research says many primary and secondary schools still do not provide students with sufficient and specialized anti-school violence programs.
According to research on 3,910 students belonging to 15 primary and secondary schools nationwide, more than 40 percent of them did not receive any form of education devised to help prevent school violence and criminal activity.
It was conducted between June and August last year by the Foundation for Preventing Youth Violence.
Moreover, 55.8 percent of those who had received some form of education responded that it was through watching DVDs and videos.
Only a tenth of them replied they had gone through systematic education programs organized by specialists.
More than 20 percent of the students received the education from teachers, who also lack knowledge about violence prevention.
The research also found that the current anti-school violence programs are also lacking in educating students on how to cope with school violence and crime.
Among students who have experienced school violence, 45.9 percent said they just kept the experience a secret rather than seeking proper countermeasure by confiding in a teacher, parents and friends.
Only a quarter of the respondents said they had notified their parents of their experiences. Less than 10 percent of the victims had reported it to teachers (9.2%) and the police (6.7%).
How to root out school violence
Many experts on school violence share a common belief that prevention is a much more efficient way to root out rampant school violence than other forms of countermeasures including punishment or discipline.
Following is an example showing what can be done to fend off school crime and violence.
There is a middle school at Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, which has continued its zero-violence campaign since early this year. Thanks to the program, the school has reported no school violence and crime cases so far.
The secret behind the campaign is a former policeman, who stays at the school around the clock monitoring students' behaviors.
The mid-70s volunteer worker strolls around the campus during every 10-minute break time, watching students' behavior. Whenever he sees students who are injured, he always asks the reason and also gives some tips how to prevent and cope with school violence.
Although only seven months have passed since the program was launched in March, the school has not recorded acts of violence this year, a teacher said.
``Paying keen attention consistently to what students do and think is a key to crack down on school violence and crime,'' said Lee Jae-goo, an anti-school violence campaigner.
Noting that juvenile crimes can not be eliminated by strict regulations and punishment, Lee stressed ``The matter can be resolved through cooperation among concerned people ― juveniles, parents, teachers, the government, and people in a community ― putting their efforts toward rooting out school violence.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
